Developing with a Design Mindset

As Artificial Intelligence accelerates the code-writing process, our role as developers needs to expand beyond functions and breakpoints. By thinking about the human element, and writing code with the user experience in mind, developers can become an integral part of the design process. Recently, in my twitter feed, John Carmack (an engineering legend in the area of 3D graphics) was asked about developers and AI. Specifically, a younger developer was asking about career opportunities for system engineers when Artificial Intelligence is already being used to write code. His reply was this… "Build full 'product skills' and use the best tools for the job…Software is just a tool to accomplish something for people. Keep your eyes on delivered value, and don't over-focus on the specifics of the tools." "Building for people" I think this is something important that modern developers need to hear. While it feels good to solve complex problems or create elegant systems, it's easy to fall in love with the coding side of development and forget about the people side. In my years working as an artist and developer in the game industry, there are several tricks and methods I've used to ensure the work being done was always in service of a better product. This talk will help developers take a step back from coding to look at their project holistically, encouraging them to become a vital part of the creative process.